BERLIN (JTA) — Germany’s parliament is considering a bill to erase the label of traitor given to German army deserters of the Nazis during World War II.
A bill scheduled for a vote Sept. 8 would recant the convictions of those who fled the fighting, helped, Jews, criticized Hitler or refused to serve during the last chaotic throes of Nazi Germany.
Some 100,000 people reportedly were convicted as war traitors; of 30,000 sentenced to death, about 20,000 were actually executed. Some individuals were rehabilitated over the years, but most still have a legal stain on their records.
Three years ago, conservative politicians argued against calls by leftists for a general rehabilitation, saying they did not want to encourage soldiers to betray their comrades. But today there appears to be general agreement on the measure.
Meanwhile, a new memorial in Cologne to German deserters and victims of Nazi military courts is set to be unveiled Sept. 1. Ludwig Baumann, who was tortured and convicted for having deserted the Wehrmacht in 1942 but was rehabilitated in 2002, is scheduled to attend the ceremony. Baumann is president of the Federal Association of Victims of Nazi Military Justice.
